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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22852825">Averted</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireflower34/pseuds/Fireflower34'>Fireflower34</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Paris as told by its People [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Background characters - Freeform, Bad Writing, Cameras, Cringe, Gen, I always wondered about if this would happen, Like, Melissa is a fangirl, POV Outsider, Surprises, and a reporter, aren't the reporters annoying tho, ehhh, how the fck do i tag this, i dont like this one, ladybug is thankful, read at ur own risk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 18:15:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,043</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22852825</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireflower34/pseuds/Fireflower34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Melissa is different, Ladybug is thankful<br/>or<br/>A curious reporter stumbles upon Ladybug's detransformation</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Paris as told by its People [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1611358</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Averted</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Ehhhhhhhhh<br/>I dont like this one<br/>also like wRITERS BLOCK EW<br/>so have this trash heap to hold you off until i get some actual ideas<br/>also it been a while since i updated this series sooo<br/>GLHF</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Melissa lives a normal life<br/>Well, as close to normal as you can get when you live in Paris.<br/>She looks normal, wavy brown hair, bright amber eyes flashing behind blue-rimmed glasses. T-shirt, jacket, and jeans. A DIY canvas book bag slung over one shoulder. A camera around her neck, phone in hand.<br/>Pretty normal for an apprentice reporter.<br/>She loves the Ladyblog, what wouldn’t she give to meet Alaya herself! <br/>Of course, she works for an official news company. Up close and personal shots of akumas were common when everyone fought for the front page.<br/>But Alaya’s site was more suited to her tastes. Energetic fans, colorful website, kind-hearted people, and stunning photos<br/>Just like herself.<br/>Melissa stumbles over a wire as she crosses the studio, windmilling her arms to avoid falling.<br/>A loud <em>beep! Beep! Beep!</em> Sends the room into a flurry of activity, reporters scrambled for their cameras and microphones and dashed out the door, their team leader shouting stations for every person.<br/><em>Akuma</em> alert! That meant Ladybug and Chat Noir!<br/>Melissa grabs her own camera and mic before pushing her way out, her station was with the main group, providing a narrative. Then after the battle, she was to continue filming the city and report on its conditions.<br/>She quickly slings the camera strap around her neck as she joins the flow of people, quickly checking the Ladyblog. The fight was spotted in front of the art museum. Ladybug and Chat had yet to arrive.<br/>She informs the rest of the group and they drive there in a matter of minutes, quickly setting up equipment a safe distance away just as the superheroes appeared.<br/>Melissa checks her mic and takes her position in front of the camera, beginning to narrate the battle, apparently the akuma was an artist who had been rejected for the art museum’s showcase. So he decided to paint the entire city.<br/>Great<br/>Melissa yelps as a paint blob flies over her head, missing the camera by an inch.<br/>The battle keeps going for a few minutes, and Melissa switches out with another reporter, starting to work the cameras instead, but quickly shuts all of them down after the akuma is purified. <br/>Their team leader confirms her assignment to take photos on the city’s condition and she flips open her own camera, fiddling with the controls for a while to get the desired effect before heading down a nearby street.<br/>She glances around her and snaps a shot of the swarm of ladybugs restoring Paris. A few before and after shots as well.<br/>Paris really was beautiful, even though it was demolished pretty every day.<br/>Melissa sets her camera to video, clicking on her mic on to provide a voice-over, before a bright pink flash shoots out from an alley in front of her<br/>She recognizes it immediately.<br/><em>Ladybug!</em><br/>But...she just detransformed. She doesn’t know she’s right there. Melissa could swoop in with her camera and discover the secret that every single reporter (and person) had been buzzing over since the hero's first appearance.<br/>Footsteps sound softly as the person starts leaving the alley, and Melissa knows what to do.<br/>Fumbling for her camera, she jabs the off button with one hand while the other clicks off her mic. She squeezes her eyes shut just as the footsteps turn the corner and stopped.<br/>“Hi...Ladybug. Um, I-I didn’t know you were here and was walking by while scoping out the city. B-but I didn't get your identity! I promise! The camera and mic are off and I didn't see who you were, uh-sorry for just barging in like this.”<br/>There's a moment of silence as Melissa stares at her eyelids and wondered if she said something wrong. <br/>Then Ladybug speaks. <em>To her!!</em><br/>“You...turned off your camera?”<br/>Melissa nods quickly, holding up the blank screen, “Y-yep, I’m sure it didn’t get anything, don’t worry.”<br/>“Why?”<br/>That catches her off guard.<br/>“Everyone’s been trying to figure us out since they first saw us. Why didn’t you take the chance?”<br/>Why <em>didn’t</em> she?”<br/>Melissa pauses, “I..don’t know. A-actually I do know. I think. Because...if you think about it logically, Hawkmoth is after you. And most likely he’s a citizen in this town, so if i broadcasted your identity to all of Paris, he would know who you were. And he could target you as a civilian. Plus, I’d have an angry Chat on my tail.” Ladybug laughes, “That’s true”<br/>“But also...You’ve always protected us. You do what’s best for the city. If revealing your identities were in our best interest, I’m sure you would’ve done it by now. So it must be important if you’re willing to go so far to keep it secret. And besides. I doubt you’d like to be swarmed by fans and reporters in your daily life as well. Not to mention the privacy issues.”<br/>Ladybug seems to think about her words, and Melissa holds her breath, waiting for a response.<br/>“Well. It’s nice to see a reasonable reporter for once. Very different from the ones that practically chase me and Chat across the rooftops.”<br/>Melissa exhales in relief.<br/>“Thank you. I never caught your name?”<br/>Ladybug was asking for her name?!<br/>“M-Melissa. I’m Melissa.”<br/>“Well,” She can almost hear Ladybug’s smile, “Nice to meet you Melissa. Give me five seconds and I’ll be gone. And thanks. We appreciate it. ”<br/>The reporter wants to jump up and down as giddiness bubbles up in her chest. <em>Ladybug just thanked me!</em><br/>“Of course!!”<br/>And when she opens her eyes, the heroine is gone.<br/>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br/>Melissa stares at her camera, thinking about her encounter as she walks back to the studio. It was strange. Ladybug seemed surprised she hadn’t exposed her. Were most reporters really that bad?<br/>Well Melissa refused to be one of them. Ladybug and Chat had enough going on in their lives without nosy citizens. Some people just couldn’t take a hint.<br/>She fingered her camera as she walked, deciding something.<br/>She would help the heroes in any way she could. After all, she knew a few reporters that needed some sense knocked into them. And if it would keep their secret safe, Melissa was more than happy to do it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for suffering through that :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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